The Armen
by DCIPHOENIX
Summary: Set shortly after 'Helpless' after the scene in the library but before the scene in the kitchen with the 'Scooby gang.' this is my first ever fanfic so please be nice in your review! I have rated it a 'T'. But don't let that put you off...ENJOY! XXXX
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of its characters, places and things.

A/N. (Author's note) I dedicate my first fic to my Mother, as a big thank you for putting up with my odd questions at ridiculous times, as I need your skills at proof reading.

(Timeline) This is set shortly after the episode; Helpless. (you know...) with Buffy's test on her 18th birthday, Quentin Travers firing Giles and Buffy still not trusting Giles – but what's better at restoring trust than a life and death situation? Well it actually happens in-between the final 2 scenes, just after Giles helping Buffy with her wound and before the Scooby-gang in the kitchen.

This is my 1st Buffy the vampire slayer fanfiction, my 1st fanfiction altogether! I hope you enjoy, hell this took a while...I joined in July and I've only just wrote and published a story...ON WITH THE SHOW!

Title: The Armen.

Characters: Giles and Buffy, (main.) Willow (3rd main.) Oz, (mentioned.)

Rating: T. There's a few 'bloodies' here and there from Giles. Also the plot is a dark one. Note: you'll need a torch/flash light. Hehehehe.

Spoilers: Helpless.

Author: DCIPHOENIX aka Rosie Phoenix.

**The Armen**

**Chapter One**

_How could she trust him again? He wouldn't trust him in this situation_. He thought to himself. Huh...Rupert Giles knew this was bad, he was talking about himself in the third person. Perhaps some tea...Giles decided this thought was a good one, splendid in fact. Poor Buffy all that violence and the sense of mist-trust on her young shoulders, also to bear the horrid situation on her birthday. Buffy Summers had enough to worry about, other then The Council ordering Giles to perform the test, her Father had cancelled their yearly meeting; if he heard right, they met every year to go to the Ice Show together, things must be bad, amidst the rambling he heard her talking and offering the chance for him to take her, or an outing for Watcher and Slayer as she put it, or something along those lines. Ah! She said if he was free it would be something a family would do together, or a student and teacher or Watcher and...Oh good lord. Giles was snapped out of his morose thoughts by the incessant whistling of the kettle. _Ah, tea: good._ He was in need of a refreshing beverage which would calm down one's mind and body. Giles took a sip of the hot caffeinated drink. But sadly the usual effect of the tea had no effect on this situation. But Giles always had a smart quip for these moments, he would say as always if fail – try and try again.

She wished she could carve the thoughts out of her head, and discard them like the innards of a Jack-O-Lantern. Thoughts of which, contained mistrust and hate of Giles and his role in the Cruciamentum test. Sorrow at the fact she acted out therefore Giles must've felt compelled to tell her the truth. She did ask him to promise to tell her the truth, he did therefore he got fired and all this made her feel guilty. Buffy couldn't sleep. After Giles, without word, made short work of her wound, Buffy asked Cordelia earlier that day for a ride home again, she obliged. Cordelia dropped her off; she went straight to her room, like a moody teenager, like a spoiled brat not getting what she wants. Buffy felt like that. She thought with her powers returned all would be right in the world...well not Sunnydale, nothing can never be right there is seems. But no, she didn't get what she wanted. _Powers coming back: check. Friends still friends: check. Giles still Watcher: Whoa-oh. Oh. A big, fat 'no' in that department. That was the reason she wasn't herself. That was the reason for the guilt. _Sadly Buffy knew this. She needed to apologise, she **had** to apologise.

Giles' theory had worked. He was relaxed; finally, it took two cups of tea and a rather long session on incessant channel hopping, which would make an Olympic Gold Medallist bow before him. He was relaxed, relaxed and exhausted physically** and** emotionally. His day had indeed been a trial for both Watcher and Slayer; they both took a one too many blows. Unexpectantly he got fired, of all the things he may've foreseen about today this was absolutely not one of them. After silently seeing to Buffy's most harsh wound he went home, not early, not overly late, as normal. It did him good to put his feet up, after that he observed his collection of exotic and sensual teas, after a few long minutes of choosing he decided on a plain, strong brew. It suited his mood. Then he found himself taking comfort in another, eventually he couldn't bring himself to the kettle once more. Television, or 'cable' as the residents of Sunnydale called it, occupied his wavering attention he put the mute on and just watched the moving pictures, after several minutes it all became a blurry vision. Giles was brought out of his reminiscing about the day's events by the kettle for the second time in one day. Oddly with closer inspection he realised the noise wasn't coming for the kettle in his kitchen. It was coming from the door, repeatedly.

Without a second's thought he opened the door. There, standing with a frown, sleepy eyes and ruffled clothes was Buffy. His Sla... ex-Slayer.

"Buffy." Giles stated unsure of what to say, or how to bloody say it! "You look... umm, are you alright?"

Buffy nodded absent mindedly. She seemed to teeter on the balls of her feet in the direction of the door.

"Come in, by all means." Giles opened the door wider for her to step in, he tried a small smile, and it went unnoticed.

Once she was inside he beckoned her to the sofa, he watched her perch herself on the seat furthest to the wall, rigid, un-readable. He took the used cups to the kitchen and left them there, right now cups and saucers weren't his priority!

"Would you join me in a pot of tea?" Giles asked in the direction of the sofa. He didn't get a reply. "I'll take that as a maybe." Giles mumbled at no one in particular. The tea pot was still hot to the touch and he made himself and her one regardless of an answer. He went back into the sitting room and put the cup and saucer in front of her, he kept hold of his own.

"I'm sorry, I should go." He heard her whisper.

"No. Do stay, please." He replied. He took a sip of his tea.

She relaxed her shoulders. "If you're not too busy." She was the first to make eye contact.

"No, I'm not busy, not at all." He slowly shook his head.

She relaxed slightly.

"I was thinking of finding something in the attic, but..." Giles trailed off as he thought she'd get up and leave if she found out he had plans.

"Yeah?" Buffy asked.

"...I'd best leave it for tonight." Giles thought soulfully.

"You still can, if you want." Buffy shrugged. "I don't mind."

Giles raised and eyebrow and move his glasses a little as he cautiously asked. "Only if you're sure." He put his cup and saucer down.

"Mm." Buffy smiled.

Giles had jogged upstairs to the landing as an alarming speed, leaving Buffy walking up behind him, wide-eyed and mouth agape. She heard him mumble a curse, as he fought with the contraption which was the stairs to the attic. He succeeded after a number of minutes and held up a hand to stop her from coming any further.

"Umm, I'll go up there shall I?" Giles took the moment to remove his glasses, clean them and replace them on the bridge of his nose, preparing for his little adventure.

"Get to it Mr Library-Man." She smiled. Giving him benefit of the doubt.

After her reply, he shot up the stairs and into the depths of darkness which consumed him immediately. Buffy found seconds of silence after his assent. Then out of the blue or black in this case she heard him say.

"Ah...I may've...I could do with a tor... it'll too dark... hmm, I do indeed need a light in...AH! Brilliant, Buffy I found it!"

Giles emerged looking very pleased with himself. He waggled a box at her, nothing special, an ordinary rectangular box, no engravings or markings, with a lock, she saw.

"I found about this; years ago on my journeys in England, but that not concern you... I came aware of this again a few days ago, sorry I can't be specific but it awoke me one night and I investigated. So I discovered this peculiar little box."

Buffy stuck out her bottom lip as she inspected the box. "Cool, neat." She said fully interested. "Wait... how can a box wake you up?" She stood there confused, in front on Giles whom had one foot on the floor the other on the bottom stair. Giles knocked three times on the box. _He knocked, knocked?_ Buffy thought to herself. She could not have believed what happened next, it'd be the stuff of fiction or some horror movie.

But sure enough the box started rattling and trying to escape Giles' grasp on it, but Giles stood his ground and kept hold of the odd box. The shaking didn't increase or decrease it just kept on. He stepped off the bottom step and instructed Buffy to take care of the stairs. Meanwhile in the sitting room, Giles had moved the discarded tea cups and placed the box on the table and put both of his hands on the top.

"Before you ask, no I haven't ventured a guess at what's in the box neither have I opened it." Giles instructed to the young girl whom just that second stepped down in to the room and into Giles' peripheral vision.

"Ah!" Buffy smiled whilst waggling a finger at the side of her head in his direction. "You know me too well." She decided to say. This got a somewhat boyish grin from the Librarian.

Giles raised his eyebrows "Perhaps we could try opening it." Giles said as Buffy sat down next to him, her demeanour less prickly and more comfortable. She took in his comment and slightly nudged him when she answered.

"Perhaps we could." Buffy giggled.

"Right." Giles exhaled slowly as his hands were still keeping the box from falling or jumping off the table. He raised his eyebrows a little further and cast the box a quizzical look. Tutting. Sighing. Then finally deciding. "We should try a normal method of opening this box before we try any magic."

"Oh yeah, by doin' what?" She smirked.

"Well..." He began then as she thought her night couldn't get any weirder Rupert Giles brandished a Swiss Army Knife. This got an amazed 'Ooooh' from the blonde girl beside him. Giles brought out a little corkscrew-letter operner-ish prong and pushed it into the lock; he then proceeded to jiggle the prong in different directions at different speeds. He finished his intricate work when he and Buffy heard an audible and positive **click. **

"Ah, I'm rather glad that worked, if not I would've been disappointed but luckily it did so I am immensely pleased with my self."

"You damn well should be!" Buffy playfully punched his arm; this received an equally playful glare on Giles' behalf. "Fancy a peek?" Buffy slowly took her eyes away from Giles and stared intently at the box.

**Next Chapter up in a mo. :) xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Armen **

**Chapter Two**

Giles swallowed, clenched his fists, unclenched them as Buffy held the bottom half of the box and Giles had volunteered to be the 'opener of the box.' He looked at her cautious and perhaps fragile. He thought best get it over with. Giles took a deep breath and slowly pulled back the lid.

Quick as a flash. Or maybe quicker. A small and dark object flew out! It seemed to zoom instantly at Giles whom seemed to emit a girly yell and tried to duck out the way of the object. No, Creature. It was a creature. The creature had wrapped it's self, or its arms, no! _Wrong again!_ That's all it was it was two hands with 3 thick fingers on each arm, upper arms and it seemed to be joined by a collar bone. The arms had wrapped themselves around Giles' neck and he automatically fell to the floor. He scrambled up quickly toward the kitchen, Buffy followed eager to help her friend. He was red faced and probably not breathing, not able to breathe she feared. Giles was desperately trying to tear the creature away but each time, failing, each time trying again. Buffy sought help from the draws as she rummaged through each one, leaving them open and spilling out they're contents she unmistakably pulled up a knife, a big one at that. Giles despite his ordeal threw her a 'don't you bloody dare' look she cast it aside and in stead picked up a lump of wood which may've been a plank at some point in its life. _It would make a wonderful stake. _Thought Buffy, but now wasn't the time to think about the life of a tree...there was another life which needed thought at the moment. She started beating away at the scaly creature which all her strength. When it flew again, this time a short distance at Buffy! She gasped, alarmed, and scared all emotions Giles had been feeling. She watched Giles recover quickly, how she never knew, and got up to help his ex-Slayer. She fell to her knees as oxygen couldn't find it's way to her lungs, her heard hammered, so did her head, black spots began to appear behind her eyes, she tried to shake them away, with all her might she tried to pull the creature away, screaming the last of her breath away she saw before her the creature burst into a bright, bright light then found herself staring at her hands, where the creature had been.

Sure enough, bright as day there stood Willow. Her eyes dissipating the bright light which had caused the creature to release its hold. Her best friend, her class mate, her _rescuer. _Buffy gasped and coughed her breath back as she took in the sight before her. Willow in the door way had her arm stretched out which from her point of view would be directly over the creature, which lay still, unmoving, dead! She hoped so.

Buffy inhaled slowly feeling and loving each breath, only realising how precious each intake of breath is. "Willow, oh gosh, thanks!" She practically yelled, still knelt on the floor.

"Your welcome! All magic-ed up and nowhere to use it." Willow shrugged. The red head smiled at the fact they were okay and that she _made them okay! Willow: 1, Armen: 0._

"How did you know we were in trouble, Willow?_" _Buffy asked at a normalpitch.

"I came from locking Oz up in the cage at the library and I sensed great evil here, more than normal, I felt it, not calling me, the opposite actually it was sorta telling me not to come, 'STAY AWAY'!" Willow raised her hands further up as she told them her story.

"Dang, Willow. I'll be damned if you weren't all witch-y, Willow, well we'd BOTH he damned." Buffy pointed between herself and Giles.

Willow looked on at the pair, holding their necks, which must be in pain, great pain! Bad ouch-y pain. As Willow observed the two she thought; if Willow had a brain she'd know seeing the crumpled pair, the pair in question which had not been the best of buds the past few days, alone, she'd give them room to talk, apologise, 'kiss and make up'...well maybe not kiss but...Willow smiled at her thoughts. Thankfully Willow had a brain and decided to give them some space.

"I'm gonna to go, I've done my bit now, I'm tired, magic makes Willow sleepy. I'm sleepy, feeling very sleepy! Which is why I'm gonna hit the hay! Like a rhinestone cowboy! Yee-har!" Willow, whom did an action which would've been a whip cracking, made a poor excuse and at why she was leaving, but Buffy and Giles didn't catch on. They didn't even look. Willow waved childishly and disappeared out of the doorway, seconds later they heard the front door open and close swiftly.

Back in the kitchen, Buffy had half crawled and half shimmied along the floor to rest her back against the cupboards. Buffy Summers sat, shoulders slumped back, legs bent in a 'v' to the right parallel to the cupboards, head to one side which was being propped up by a hand which supported her neck. Her breathing was fast and ragged, where his was slow and shallow. Giles joined her, nursing his own aches and wounds, he sat next to her, without thought, knees brought up against his chest, one hand hanging limp over his raised knee, the other doing a rather vain attempt at taking care of his neck by massaging it, he let out a small but visible sigh.

"I'm sorry." Buffy winced.

"Hm, you shouldn't be, I was the one that wanted to go in the attic, and I was the one that volunteered to open the box..." Giles willingly took full responsibility and pointed this out to her, but was silenced by her hand on his shoulder.

"I didn't mean that...you know what I mean." Her eyes reflected the emotion in what she said, sadness, grief all the things she was feeling previously that night was all there seen in her eyes.

"Buffy. Once again I must take responsibility; I should be the one to apologise, what I did was cruel of me." He sighed. "I take whatever punishment you may throw at me, with open arms. Or lying down, if you will."

"That won't be necessary." Buffy looked up at him, straight into his eyes and **his soul.** She then took her eyes sharply away and moved so she could lean her head on his shoulder, so she could rest her entire tired form on him, she sniffled slightly and swallowed hard. "I forgive you, Giles."

"Thank you." Giles replied.

"But how could you forgive me? I got you fired. I got you hurt."

"Buffy how many times must I tell you? I take full responsibility the fault is mine and of the Council's. If anything please blame them." The older Librarian reassured the young adult. She didn't reply. She only relaxed a little more as Giles gently squeezed her shoulder. She looked up at him. "I do hope your threat against me is no longer in action." Giles spoke with unreadable emotion.

"Eh? What you...Ohhh." She caught his drift, he was referring to when she told him _'if you touch me, I'll kill you.' _Poor Giles, she just verbally lashed out. She no longer meant it. "Nah, your free from harm, Mr Giles, this Slayer's cool as a cucumber...whatever that means...and No! Don't tell me what it means either, mister." She said or managed all in one breath. In her answer she had looked away from him and when she returned her gaze she saw him ready to give her the answer about the cucumber.

"It looks as if you know me too well it seems." Giles chuckled slightly.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, just basking in the feeling of quality that all is right with them and the fact they survived a terrible life threatening ordeal _again._ Giles was pretty much enjoying their peaceful lounge on the kitchen floor as something started niggling in the Librarian's head. Those Watcher instincts kicked in and they told him to research and find what or who the creature was. The niggling became too incessant and crucial for his liking.

"Umm, Buffy perhaps we should indulge in a spot of research to rest out minds at what exactly attacked us." Giles piped up.

"Oh, a good idea." Buffy became her ripe old self again and sprang up out his arms and travelled into the sitting room.

"...but only if you want to." Giles added which was only heard by him and the surrounding walls of the kitchen.

Buffy sat eagerly on the couch eyeing up various books which she shall not touch without Giles. She'll wait till he chose some for her. He was probably de-ruffling his tweed and contemplating another cuppa-char. Giles strode out of the doorway tea free and smart, as usual. He automatically grabbed an armful of books, stared looking through them, without use of an index, if the array of books had an index, they probably didn't, too fragile, too old. After barely minutes of looking in the first book, Bilbao's Compendium of Myths and Legends she recognised. He found what he was looking for.

"Ah!" Giles said for the umpteenth time this evening. "The creature is known as _Armen_."

"Amen, what? You praying there, Watcher Man?" Buffy punned.

"No, no Buffy the creature is called Armen; it is Old English for 'arm.' It is an old demon part. It's said in the Armen's reign of terror in the Underworld, where time passes much quicker there, it had many arms, all different, none the same. All for different uses, then a Slayer, which is sadly not named, killed Armen and scattered the arms to the far centres of the Underworld." Giles closed the book. "The arms which we've seen commit vengeful acts of murder on ourselves are that of which's skin was reptile in form."

"How it ended up here I'll never know. Perhaps it sensed Willow's power and awoke, bidding her to keep away as it wished nought to be torn apart again." Giles decided.

"Oh, Wow! Someone's right on the money!" Buffy cooed. Amazed by his figuring out.

"Indeed." Giles acknowledged. His stance reflected his self worth and importance at this moment. The finding of the creature. Satisfying Buffy's ever growing vocabulary and needing to extinguish boredom. Also as he had her forgiveness and trust back again, he thought he'd have to earn it back. He was wrong. Today was horrible but ended greatly an ominous creature, the Armen which brought them closer. As for Buffy he could only hope she was feeling the same as him and that today seemed like an opportunity for forgiveness and trust-finding. The Armen sought out pain and death, which failed; it wanted to play a gruesome and one sided game which could only end one way in The Armen's rulebook. But it played with Giles, unknowingly seeking Ripper and unknowingly meeting its final resting place. It played with Giles and he won. 'If fail; try and try again'. As always he would win.

XXXXX DCIPHOENIX XXXXX

Hope you enjoy, please read and review. Be nice, it's my 1st. (I've seen this done on fanfics so I'm gonna do it, now.) Please R&R or even better – fave my fic! I'll give you cookies, if you don't like them, I'll give you gingerbread men! It took my 3 days to write this. I finished it 17/01/2011 13:43:05. My toilet broke when I was writing the part with the attack, but now it's fixed – yay! Xxxxx


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